So far, so good with my new lithops. They've been in my care since April and remain alive, and that's an achievement. They seem just a tad tall and leggy-ish though...
Update: I decided some further research was in order, and I found excellent cultivation info here, and here which suggest that tall lithops need more light. Best I can do without adding artificial light will be to move the taller lithops closest to the window. Their watering schedule seems to jive well with what I already do for the cacti they're planted with, but the chicken waterer is too shallow for the taproot they are said to develop. I'll address this next spring, for now I'll adjust lighting and see how it goes.
6 comments:
I've never had a lot of luck with these either. I got a dish garden once as a gift that had one in it and it did well in a west window, then I put it outside for summer camp and it shriveled up and died - quickly!
Then I bought another one later on, put it in the same west window and it thrived, even bloomed, then one day it just died. I've never researched them and know nothing about them, but kudos to you for keeping the little buggers alive, elongated or not! Heh!
V.
Well now I'm scared! If my Cactus Guru struggles with these, what chance do I have? Here's hoping "dumb luck" counts for something :) I guess a better idea would be to do some research, sure will help my chances.
I love Lithops. Looks like they could use a tad bit more light. But like you said, short of adding artificial lights, not much you can do. Maybe adding something reflective like a mirror to double the light output?
Hey! That's a great idea! Thanks MBT!
Hey, your cactus guru is not guru of ALL things cacti!
I've killed my share of cacti over the last 30 yrs!
You're doing a great job! I just wish you had better light.
That mirror trick sounds interesting...
V.
Heh, guess that's how you get "experience" eh? I'm gonna try mirrors for sure, I've seen them at the Dollar Tree store!
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